The Son Rises: Historical Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus

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The Origin of the Christian Faith

THE FACT OF BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION

Whatever they may think of the historical resurrection, even the most skeptical scholars admit that at least the belief that Jesus rose from the dead lay at the very heart of the earliest Christian faith. Bultmann, though he denies the historical resurrection, yet acknowledges that historical criticism can establish that the first disciples believed in the resurrection.1 Gerhard Koch states, “It is everywhere clear that the event of Easter is the central point of the New Testament message. Resurrection by God and appearing before his disciples constitute the basis of the New Testament proclamation of Christ, without which there would be virtually no witness to Christ.”2 When Paul wrote, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14), he was not giving just his own opinion. The entire New Testament testifies to the fact that the resurrection of Jesus stood at the center of the disciples’ faith and preaching.

It was on the basis of Jesus’ resurrection that the disciples could believe that He was the Messiah. It is difficult to exaggerate how devastating the crucifixion must have been for the disciples. They had pinned all their hopes, their lives, on Jesus, but He had died. Even though Jesus had predicted his resurrection, the gospels are clear that the disciples did not understand Him. They had no conception of a dying, much less a rising, Messiah, for the Scriptures said that the Messiah would reign forever (Isaiah 9:7; compare John 12:34). Thus, Jesus’ crucifixion shattered any hopes they might have entertained that He was the Messiah.

But the resurrection turned catastrophe into victory. Because God had raised Jesus from the dead, He was proved to be the Messiah after all. In Acts 2:32, 36, Peter declares to the Jews, “This Jesus God raised up. . . . Let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” “Christ” was the Greek word for “Messiah,” and it became so closely connected to Jesus’ person that it became practically a proper name: Messiah Jesus became Jesus Christ. The resurrection was God’s decisive vindication of who Jesus was. It showed that the crucifixion was no defeat, but part of God’s plan. Belief in the resurrection enabled the disciples to proclaim that their crucified Master was the Messiah of God.

The resurrection was also central to salvation from sins. Paul writes that Jesus “was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Romans 4:24-25). On the basis of the resurrection, Peter could proclaim, “Every one who believes in Him receives forgiveness óf sins” (Acts 10:43). Belief in Jesus’ resurrection was therefore one of the necessary conditions for salvation. An early confession cited by Paul states: “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9). Apart from belief in the resurrection, there could be no salvation or forgiveness of sins. Without the resurrection, the cross would have no meaning. This is why Paul could write, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

It is quite clear that without the belief in the resurrection the Christian faith could not have come into being. The disciples would have remained crushed and defeated men. Even had they continued to remember Jesus as their beloved teacher, His crucifixion would have forever silenced any hopes of His being the Messiah. The cross would have remained the sad and shameful end to His career. The origin of Christianity therefore hinges on the belief of the early disciples that God had raised Jesus from the dead.